Don’t lead an accidental life. One where life “happens” to you. How often do you find yourself living life on your terms? How often do you feel you are in control? How often do you respond vs react? If you don’t like your own answers to these questions, then you’re leading an accidental life. Its a clear signal that its time to try something different. You need to get back in control of your own life. The question that stumps most people is: How?
It turns out that the answer isn’t as complex or daunting as you might expect. It involves the framework you use to organize your life. You need to
- Figure out whats important to you
- Organize your life around those things that are important
- Do more of what is important, and do less of everything else
Again, #1 feels daunting or abstract but it isn’t. You don’t need to know EVERYTHING that is important to you. Just a couple of things are enough to get started. So the question boils down to knowing where to get started. Again, not that hard. Just think about 1 or 2 or 3 things you want to do. For me, it was dropping my kids to school (spending time with them when we walk to school) and being home for dinner (spending time with them in the evening). Consciously choosing to organize my life around just those 2 things were enough for me to get started.
Once I decided to drop my kids to school every morning and be home by 630 for dinner every evening, something amazing happened. These 2 “bookends” made me think more carefully and critically about how I spent the rest of the day. Gone were tasks and meetings and projects that weren’t important. I became much more results focused — after all, I had limited time to get stuff done (gone were the “I can always stay back in the office and catch up on work”). I was willing to wake up early in the morning so I could get work done before I left for work — that made me feel less guilty about reaching work late after dropping the kids. The early wake up routine made me check how I spent my evenings — gone were TV and other distractions. In short, by organizing my life around just 2 things that were important to me, I was able to increase my productivity, feel in control, and do the things that mattered most to me. In short, I was happier and more satisfied.
Now I look at every decision about whether its important. If it is important, I consciously choose to do it — I make time for it and let something else drop from my life. It doesn’t bother me at all — I know that the opportunity cost is worth it. You’ll find that you are happier, more productive, and more satisfied.
So take a moment to think about the 1 or 2 things that are important to you and start organizing your life around them. You’ll see the difference right away.
